Another Brexit deadline missed? Yes, alas. The UK and EU now have three weeks to figure out how they’re going to keep trading with each other. On Wednesday, leaders from both parties met for a three-hour dinner to hash it out… and still made a hash of it. As European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen hilariously put it: despite “a lively and interesting discussion” the two sides’ positions “remain far apart”. Well isn’t that lovely? What were they doing? Having endless cups of tea?  We’re sure British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a leader in the nationalist right-wing vein, is a riveting dinner companion. But millions of livelihoods and key industries are hanging in the balance.

 Quick explainer: The UK made the momentous decision to leave the EU in 2016 – the first and only country to do so in the powerful bloc’s 63-year history. Brexit already happened in January, but that was just politically. They’ve since had an 11-month transition period to work out the all-important trade agreement, or the UK exits the EU with a disastrous “no deal” at the end of the year.

This brief was originally published in The Wrap here.

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verashni@explain.co.za |  + posts

Verashni is passionate about empowering citizens to hold those in power to account. She was previously editor-in-chief of the Mail & Guardian and HuffPost South Africa, and won the CNN African Journalism Award, among others.